This distinguished statesman, for as such his worst enemies
acknowledged him, possessed all the external dignity, as well as
almost all the noble qualities, which could grace the power that he
enjoyed; and had he succeeded to the throne as his legitimate
inheritance, it is probable he would have been recorded as one of
Scotland's wisest and greatest kings. But that he held his authority
by the deposition and imprisonment of his sister and benefactress, was
a crime which those only can excuse who think ambition an apology for
ingratitude. He was dressed plainly in black velvet, after the Flemish
fashion, and wore in his high-crowned hat a jewelled clasp, which
looped it up on one side, and formed the only ornament of his apparel.
He had his poniard by his side, and his sword lay on the council
table.
Such was the personage before whom Roland Graeme now presented
himself, with a feeling of breathless awe, very different from the
usual boldness and vivacity of his temper. In fact, he was, from
education and nature, forward, but not impudent, and was much more
easily controlled by the moral superiority, arising from the elevated
talents and renown of those with whom he conversed, than by
pretensions founded only on rank or external show. He might have
braved with indifference the presence of an earl, merely distinguished
by his belt and coronet; but he felt overawed in that of the eminent
soldier and statesman, the wielder of a nation's power, and the leader
of her armies.
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